Natural law and the rights of nature – in search of more effective environmental protection
Natural law and the rights of nature – in search of more effective environmental protection

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses innovative legal regulations that may contributeto increasing standards ofenvironmental protection. In the face of increasingnature degradation and climate change, current protection measures are insuf-ficient. The dysfunction of the political system, international institutionalisa-tion, and existing legal regulations, result in the strengthening of the globaleconomy instead of increasing the extent of activities aimedattheprotectionof nature. It is argued that the concept of natural law, which focuses on theprotection of human rights, is not the same as the rights of nature. However,the analysis of the origins and axiological and legal assumptions of boththeseconcepts allows us to formulate the conclusion that both can form a commonethical perspective needed in order to protect the community of life on Earth.The aim of the considerations is to discuss the concept of the rights of nature,which are the basis for shaping the new environmental ethics. Appealing tocommon axioms, the idea of the rights of nature favours overcoming the limi-tations resulting from property law and the currently dominant economic andutilitarian factors. The paper arguesthat the environmentally-profiled rights ofnature can become an ally in environmental protection.

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